`The Nine': Its number appears to be up

December 07, 2006|By Charlie McCollum, McClatchy/Tribune newspapers

ABC really upset some of its audience last week, and it all involved a show that very few people were watching.

On Nov. 22, the night before Thanksgiving, "The Nine" -- the network's heavily promoted new series about the aftermath of a bank robbery -- attracted just 4 million viewers. That made it the least-watched show on any major network that week and behind more than a few programs on cable.

So, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, ABC sent out a brief e-mail to reporters saying that a special edition of "20/20" would air in "The Nine" time slot last week. Buried at the end was the line that often sounds the death knell for a series: "The Nine" is on hiatus and will return later.

The announcement was so stealth -- we're talking a holiday weekend -- that it didn't attract a lot of publicity (probably ABC's intent), and more than a few newspapers and other publications couldn't change their Wednesday TV listings to reflect the schedule shift.

The result: a barrage of angry e-mails Thursday, surprising given the show's low ratings.

The irony is that "The Nine" was (or, perhaps, is) a drama that executives at ABC loved. They really wanted it to succeed, they were frustrated by its failure to reach a large audience, and they gave it every opportunity.

But after a sensational opening episode -- the best of any new series this fall -- "The Nine" struggled creatively. It wasn't bad, and there were things to like about it (a splendid cast, for one), but the premise proved to be shaky and the storytelling stumbled. This wasn't a case of a very good show being treated badly.

Of course, fans don't see it that way and are extremely frustrated by the notion they'll never know what really happened inside the bank during the takeover.

Chances are good they never will.

Seven episodes of the series have been shown with six more in the can that will probably turn up someday on the network or, more likely, the Web and video on demand. But closure on the story and the characters? Isn't going to happen -- at least in a way that will satisfy the fans.

Midseason switches

- "Desire" and "Fashion House," the first telenovelas from MyNetwork TV, came to an end Tuesday. Two new soaps, "Wicked Wicked Games" with Tatum O'Neal and "Watch Over Me" with Dayanara Torres ("Young and the Restless"), start Wednesday at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively. If this is something you deeply care about, I am sooo sorry.

- There was a time when "The King of Queens" was one of the most-watched, well-regarded comedies on television. This week, it quietly slips onto the CBS schedule (7 p.m. Wednesday) with the first two of the 13 episodes that will constitute its final season. Kind of sad, really.

- NBC did some midseason shuffling last week, including the announcement of its post-football Sunday night lineup. Replacing the NFL: the new "You're the One That I Want," a competition to cast Sandy and Danny in a revival of "Grease" (debuts Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.); the fifth go-round of "The Apprentice," which will be massacred by "Desperate Housewives" at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 7; and returning "Crossing Jordan" (9 p.m., beginning Jan. 21.)

In addition, "Friday Night Lights" will shift to Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 to be followed by a new Wednesday edition of "Deal or No Deal," which gets the unenviable task of going up against "American Idol" at 8 p.m.

And for now, the network is keeping "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" at 9 p.m. Monday, although the show will be replaced in March by "The Black Donnellys," the Irish mob drama that has been hanging around forever.

"3 Lbs.," the new medical drama starring Stanley Tucci, got in three episodes before the suits at CBS decided they had seen enough. It was yanked last week and will be replaced, at least temporarily, by repeats of the network's crime dramas.